Ladder.



R. A. BOYD.

LADDER. APPLIUATION FILED JUNE 12,1908.

Patented Dec. 29, 1908.

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ROBERT A. BOYD, OF ALBANY, NEW YORK.

LADDER.

No. eossv.

Application filed June 12, 1908.

T 0 all whom it 'may concern.'

Be it known that l, ROBERT A. Born, a

citizen of the United States, residing at Albany, in the county ofAlbany and State of New York, have invented new and useful Improvementsin Ladders, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to ladders and has for its object to provide aconvenient and practical extension leg for ladders which is capable ofeasy adjustment which will adapt i' the ladder to be used on side hills,slanting roofs, steps and other irregular or inclined surfaces, theinvention being especially designed for builders, painters, roofers andmei chanics in general and particularly for the use of fire departmentswhere an appliance of the kind referred to is wanted quickly.

lid/lith the above and other objects in view, the nature of which 'willmore fully appear as the description proceeds, the invention consists inthe novel construction, combination and arrangement of parts as hereinfully described, illustrated and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings Figure 1 is a front elevation of the lowerportion of a ladder showing the extension leg projected and the ladderresting on an inclined surface. Fig. 2 is a similar view showing theextension leg retracted. F ig. 3 is a plan view of the extension legdetached. Fig. 4 is a detail perspective view of the dog. Fig. 5 is asimilar view of the pivot leg. Fig. 6 is a detail perspective view ofthe roller sleeve.

In the drawings l have shown an ordinary ladder comprising the Woodenlegs or side bars 1 and the wooden rungs or cross bars 2.

In carrying out the present invention, l

employ an extension leg 3 of metal provided with a central longitudinalslot 4 extending the greater portion of the length thereof as shown inFig. 3 while at the opposite sides of the slot, one face of theextension leg is provided with ratchet teeth 5, a double ratchet facebeing thus formed for engagement with the locking dog hereinafterdescribed. In its upper end the extension leg 3 is provided with an endnotch 6 adapted to engage the second rung from the bottom as shown inFig. 2.

To secure the extension leg to the ladder, I employ a pivot lug 7provided with an attaching face 8 which is secured to the outside of oneof the legs on side bars of the ladder as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, whilethe lugs 7 project through a hole in the leg or side bar andSpecification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 29, 1908.

Serial No. 438,177.

i is adapted to receive at its inner end a dog l 9 which is slotted orbifurcated as shown at 10 and provided at opposite sides of such 3 slotwith ratchet teeth 11 adapted to engage the teeth 5 of the extension legin the manner illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2. The dog 9 and the pivot lug7 are provided with openings to receive a pivot 12 and it will be notedto the pivot so that when the dog is rocked in one direction the teethwill be moved out of engagement with the ratchet face of the extensionleo and in order to move in the opposite direction, will interlock andhold the extension leg projected or retracted as shown respectively inFigs. 1 and 2. The dog is also provided with a weighted operating arm 13adapting the dog to fall by grav- Figs. 1 and after the dog is released.The dog may be thrown out of engagement by lifting the weighted arm 13.

In order to insure the easy working of the extension leg 3 and thefalling of the same by gravity from the position shown in Fig. 2 to theposition shown in Fig. 1, l provide a metal roller sleeve 14 whichencircles one end of the lowermost rung 2 of the ladder as shown inFigs. 1 and 2, said sleeve being slightly less in external diameter thanthe width of the slot 4 in the extension leg. The sleeve 14 may eitherbe mounted tightly on the rung of the ladder or left loose thereon so asto turn as may be found expedient by the manufacturer of the invention.

I claim 1. The combination with a ladder, of a longitudinally slottedextension leg embracing one of the rungs of the ladder movable in thedirection of length of the ladder, and means for locking said extensionleg at any point in the sliding movement thereof.

2. rlhe combination with a ladder, of'a pivot lug arranged at a distancefrom the lowermost rung of the ladder, a longitudinally slottedextension leg embracing the lowermost rung of the lad-der and said pivotlug, and a locking dog mounted on said pivot lug and adapted tointerlock with the extension leg.

3. The combination with a ladder, lof an extension leg movable in thedirection of length of the ladder and provided with a longitudinal slot,a pivot lug on the ladder projecting through said slot and a weightedlocking dog mounted on said pivot lug and that the teeth 11 of the dogare concentric ity and to its locking position as shown in having adouble ratchet face adapted to a distance from said rung and providedwith engage teeth on the extension leg at op osite teeth adapted tointerlock with other teeth sides of the slot therein, substantia ly as yon the extension leg, substantially as dedescribed.

4. The combination with an extension ladder, of an extension leg movablein the direction of length of the ladder and provided With alongitudinal slot which receives one of the ladder rungs, a metalsleevedisf posed' around the rung embraced by the extension leg, and a lockingdog arranged at scribed.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two Witnesses.

ROBERT A. Born.v

litnesses:

DAVID BOYD, LANSING CLOSE.

